'A World Full of Dickens Stories' is a charming collection that introduces students to classic Dickens tales in an accessible format. I liked how McAllister's retellings capture the essence of Dickens' work while making it more approachable for young readers.

I was expecting something totally different with this book. As much as I wanted to like it it wasn’t for me.
Although it may be the perfect book for someone else.

This book does a wonderful job presenting the classic stories of Charles Dickens in a different way adapted for children. The retelling is very well done. There are illustrations engaging and colorful for such stories as Great Expectations, A Christmas Carol, and Oliver Twist. There is also an important timeline focused on his life as listing the stories. This is a wonderful book for a Dickens fan as well as for children in elementary school and middle school. This is a nice way to provide these classics as a starter way to introduce them and prepare them for the full versions later because it is a kid-friendly option of the best of these classics. There are eight novels featured and each story is about 15-pages. A wonderful feature with each story is characters are introduced with portraits, which is helpful for readers to keep the characters straight. We did not read this book all at once. It was nice to read each story on its own. Every couple of days reading a story and I feel that's a great way to appreciate the works. Otherwise, the stories might all run together like one story, which it isn't. There is also a glossary and biography of the author included.

A good compendium of Dickens' stories for children to get their first taste of the Dickens' style and prose.

I adored this sweet book of Christmas Dickens stories for children. I really didn't know about all of the stories and I loved sharing them with my daughter. Thank you for the illustrations and beautiful collection.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and I cant wait to share more with my daughter of your other collections.
Thank you so much for the advanced readers copy.

Sadly, I was unable to download this book in time before it was archived and this I was not able to either read or review it. My apologies.

A World Full of Dickens Stories by Angela McAllister is a gorgeous anthology of eight classic Dickens stories: Oliver Twist, The Old Curiosity Shop, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, A Christmas Carol, Nicholas Nickelby, and Hard Times. This was my first introduction to half of these tales, so it was wonderful to be able to dive into them and experience something new!

I absolutely loved that a cast of characters is provided for each story as it allowed you to easily differentiate them.

I’m not sure that I would recommend that children devour this in one go as it may make for a somewhat draining experience (Dickens isn’t the happiest!), rather it should be relished, and each tale given its own time and space.

Personally, I would have liked to have seen more full-page spreads of artwork as the illustration style is gorgeous, and it would have helped to further break up the text.

Overall, despite the brevity, the spirit of Dickens is not lost, and I’m sure that this will lead to a whole new generation of children reaching for the classics!

"A World Full of Dickens Stories" features beautifully illustrated and abridged Dickens stories edited for children.

I never read anything about Charles Dickens, but his stories are so famous that I was very curious to know through this book.
I found the work very beautiful, the illustrations are incredible and you can see that it was done with great care. It is a book that I would love to have on my shelf.

An amazing find. Condenses Dickens' best known tales and makes them accessible for a younger audience, without losing out on any of the magic of Dickens. Beautifully illustrated. A great addition to any children's collection.

This was a children's version of several Dickens' stories. They were rewritten for easy reading. Each story was well summarized , and I loved the illustrations. I think this book will be a good introduction for children to the classics.

A beautiful collection of Charles Dickens stories. I am excited to share these classics with my students.

I always enjoyed Dickens but somehow I made it to adulthood not having read all that much of his work. This book turns out to be an excellent way to catch up. The writing is great and the overall book design and illustrations are superb. I thoroughly enjoyed this. I now need to follow up by reading Dickens himself, but I am eager to check out more work by Angela McAllister, as well. I think this book will have the same impact on any younger readers who are curious.

A World Full of Dickens Stories pulls the reader in the the worlds of eight of Charles Dickens famous stories, fully illustrated and told in a more simplistic way. The stories that are included are: Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Nicolas Nickleby, Great Expectations, A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities, Hard Times and The Old Curiosity Shop.

I am a huge lover of Charles Dickens and because of that, I understand how intimidating his works can seem.
This book is fantastic because it gives a brief retelling of his most famous and successful stories with full illustrations. Thus, giving a taster of what will come in the full novel.

Each story is introduced with a beautifully coloured title page and illustrations of each of the main characters we are about to meet in the story. The language used throughout each story is perfect for young readers, but still kept the feel of being a Victorian text.

This book would be a great way to introduce children to classic stories, and their author. As a child, I would have loved books like this, so I could read the classic books I so wanted to read but was also very nervous to read. However, I also believe books like this are just as appealing for adults, like myself to read. I think we can all admit that classic books can be a little intimidating and time consuming. Books like this are a great way to enjoy these stories without feeling intimidated.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book to read and providing me with the opportunity to give my own, honest opinion.

This would be a great introduction for young readers (and much older!) to the works of Charles Dickens. Although his works are possibly some of the most well known Victorian literature, I must admit that I've only ever read A Christmas Carol.
To a young reader, the works of Dickens may seem quite intimidating from their sheer size. This book is great because it gives a brief retelling of his most famous and successful stories, giving a taster of what will come in the full novel.
Each story is introduced with a full colour title page and illustrations of each of the main characters. This was a brilliant start, because it was possible to keep referring back to to check how the characters were all related. The language was appropriate for young readers, but still kept the feel of being an 'old' text.
I wouldn't hesitate to use this book with KS2 children, and feel a little more positive about tackling some of his other works which I always felt would be a bit hard going!

I received an eARC of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

5★
‘Please sir, I want some more,’ he said quietly to the master in charge of the gruel.

The master glared at him in amazement.

‘What?’ he roared.

Oliver trembled with fear. ‘P-p-please, sir,’ he stuttered, ‘I want some more.’

The horrified master grabbed Oliver roughly by the collar and called for Mr. Bumble.”

Many people know the story of Oliver Twist and his “Please sir, I want some more.” This book is a great introduction for young readers who aren’t ready for the real thing but who have advanced beyond the picture book stage. There are pictures, but there’s plenty of text.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration captioned: Cast of characters from “Oliver Twist”

The language is simple but keeps the spirit of the story and the style of Dickens and his times. Here’s their introduction to the food in the workhouse.

“All they were fed was a thin soup of oats and water, called gruel, along with an onion twice a week and half a bread roll on Sundays.”

Blech! There are about a dozen pages to each story with an illustration on every page and several full-page illustrations. There are enough words to please a teacher or parent and enough artwork to break up the grey matter for the kids. Here’s a full page illustration from Oliver.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration captioned: Bill Sykes and Nancy capturing Oliver after he’d escaped from Fagin who ran the gang of pickpockets

Another favourite is “Great Expectations”, so I was interested to see Miss Havisham, of whom I have always had a mental picture from when I first read this in my teens for school. I reckon this is pretty much how I saw her.

“On my second visit, Miss Havisham asked me to help her walk to the dining room. Like the rest of the dark house, the dining room was lit only by candles. In the center of the room stood a long dining table, which was still laid with what must once have been a splendid wedding feast but was now nothing more than fancy dishes of moldy crumbs and cake icing scattered with mouse droppings, everything draped with dusty cobwebs.”

My Goodreads review includes an illustration captioned: Miss Havisham with a nervous young Pip

This is another example of a full page from “Tale of Two Cities”, which took place during the French Revolution. It will give you an idea of the number of words and the design.

Madame Defarge was famous for knitting the coded names of the accused aristocrats into her work and is often pictured knitting at the foot of the guillotine. Here, she is marching with some other women. Note the Bastille in the background.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration captioned: Mme Defarge and her revolutionary friends near the Bastille

The story is also known as the tale of two men who looked alike but were very different. When the virtuous one is caught up in the revolution, the lazy wastrel sacrifices himself instead, saying the oft-quoted Dickens line “It is a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done;. . . ”

My Goodreads review includes an illustration captioned: Sidney Carton, preparing himself for the guillotine

I must mention “A Christmas Carol”, which many kids will know from various films and cartoon versions. “Scrooge” is such a part of the English language now, meaning miser, that he was popularised as Uncle Scrooge McDuck in the Donald Duck cartoons. Here’s the real Scrooge, being haunted by the ghost of his dead partner, Jacob Marley.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration captioned: Marley’s ghost appearing to Scrooge

“‘I have much to tell you’, replied Marley. ‘But I see you don’t believe in me.’

Then the ghost rattled its chain, from which hung a collection of keys, padlocks, and cash boxes, making a terrifying din. It followed this by untying the bandage around its chin so that its jaw dropped in a hideous fashion. Scrooge sank to his knees in horror and hid his eyes.
‘Do you believe in me now?’ asked the ghost.

Trembling, Scrooge nodded his head. ‘I do, Jacob,’ he said, ‘I do. But why are you here?’”

All in all, I consider these a good introduction to Dickens for a new generation of fans. Their knowing the plot won’t spoil the original books when they’re old enough. The bonus, of course, is that some teachers and parents and older siblings will also enjoy these with the kids and may be inspired to try the real thing. As a kid, I used to love the Classics Illustrated in comic-book format, and later I enjoyed the real thing.

The eight books included are:
Oliver Twist
The Old Curiosity Shop
David Copperfield
Great Expectations
A Tale of Two Cities
A Christmas Carol
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickelby
Hard Times

Thanks to NetGalley and Frances Lincoln Children’s Books for the delightful preview copy.

We absolutely loved this title. I read a few of the stories with my kids and then promptly order a hard copy for our shelves so we could better appreciate our time reading. Highly recommend this title!!!

In this beautiful anthology we experience eight of Charles Dickens famous stories, told in a condensed simplistic way, complete with lovely illustrations aimed at children. The stories that are included are: Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Nicolas Nickleby, Great Expectations, A Christmas Carol, A Tale of Two Cities, Hard Times and The Old Curiosity Shop.

I have recently become very interested in bind up children’s illustrated compendiums following a trip to The Science Museum in London. Whilst there I found a version documenting important women in science and it seemed like a beautiful book, something I would read now and revisit later in life with any children I may have. I have since added lots of similar books to my wish list including ones that tell the stories of people, mythological tales and classics. Therefore, when I saw this book on Netgalley it really appealed to me.

This book would be a great way to introduce children to classic stories, and their authors and at a young age. I think its lovely that books like this offer the opportunity for children to experience these stories early on. However, I can imagine it would also be just as appealing for adults, like myself to read. I think we can all admit that classic books can be a little intimidating whether it’s their length subject or language. This book is a great way to enjoy these stories without the intimidation that classics sometimes bring. It could also act as a nice foundation if your looking to read the full-length stories as I find having some prior knowledge of the story makes them less intimidating.

The illustrations in this book were beautiful. They were done in a light sketchy style with a cool toned colour pallet. As the start of each story there is a list of all the characters that will feature, who they are and little picture of them. The characters illustrations are expressive in that you can easily tell who the villains of the story will be. Its then easy to recognise the characters when reading.

The actual stories themselves were lovely, well told and translated well into the short children’s versions. I knew I would like A Christmas Carol and Great Expectations before going in as these are the two Dickens books I have read and enjoyed. They were both great retellings and really captured the original stories. My favourite new to me story was A Tale of Two Cities, I would definitely be interested in checking out the original story as a result. I think the only story I didn’t enjoy so much was David Copperfield. I just felt there was too much pack into a short story and as a result it ended up feeling quite list like, bouncing from one big event to another. I also got confused whilst reading with which characters were which, there were a lot of characters in this story! I think its one Dickens story I may skip the full version of.

Overall, this was a beautiful book with some great adaptions and lovely illustrations. I think slightly older children would enjoy reading these stories but equally they could appreciate by adults too. I know Angela has quite a few compendium books like this one and I will be adding some of these to my wish list in the hope of building a little collection I can keep for many years as they are just lovely books to have.

I have been itching to share the Dickens tales with my child who is around 3.5 years old, ever since she started being receptive to read alouds. This book made its way in to our bedtime reading routine and I have thoroughly enjoyed reading each of them. A simplified kid friendly version of Dickens adds value and helps introduce classic literature to the tots.

I am planning to use it in my Charles Dickens Unit Study again next year as she might pick up on finer details.

Highly recommended!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this advance copy.

I enjoyed the illustrations and the simplified and abridged Dickens stories. I do think, however, that they are still too long for most school age kids to enjoy.